comiccrossroadsfandomcom-20200215-history
Arnaud Durant (ME-1)
"What good is a life if it's not lived free?" Early Life "Always remember, a sword and title cannot make you a great man: true greatness comes from the mind, a mind self-cultivated for the service of others." Enlightened Empire? Personality "We're far from perfect. We still we fight each other over metaphysics that don't really matter or land we will never own, we kill our neighbors for not being as patriotic, we betray one another for money, but we can rebuild, we can do better, we can ascend to heights even the most daring philosopher wouldn't even dare to dream of, and I believe with all of my being that even though I almost certainly won't live to see it, that it will happen, and that the only way it can happen, is if we win, and you lose." In his early life, Arnaud was witty and charismatic but he did not suffer fools, which fed into his laconic sense of humor, falling back on it whenever he felt emotionally vulnerable. Due to his status as a bastard, he developed a thick skin and sharp tongue very early in life. He was somewhat brash in nature, sometimes rushing into action over reason, especially when lives were at stake, which was a flaw seen by members of the Assassin Council, however many praised his grace under pressure. Because he was well-educated, Arno often quoted classical books, and unlike many in his era, he found that the Ancients held a lot of wisdom, even if they were incredibly flawed. As a newcomer to the Assassins, he was prone to questioning their typical approach and age-old beliefs, similarly to his views on Ancient philosophers, he saw great wisdom in Assassins of the past, specifically Aquil Ibn La’Ahad, and Durante Auditore. In typical Enlightenment fashion, Arnaud was fiercely independent, even questioning his own Order’s Creed. He specifically noted a rigidity to the French Brotherhood that not only was nowhere to be found in older Orders but mimicked the Ancien Régime itself. He also declined Napoleon's offer to join the French Army remarking that he "wasn't much of one to take orders." In turn, Napoleon respected Arno for this, claiming they both had similar views that defined them differently to most other people. Arno also somewhat respected Napoleon's views to an extent as well, noting that while it is not what the ideal form of government the Assassins tend to support (in fact it had much more in common with what the Templars preferred), he believed Napoleon had learned the right lessons from the Enlightenment and French Revolution at one point. The majority of Arno's life was devoted to ideals; changing the world to make a it a better place, so much so he neglected important lessons championed by previous Assassins such as Bakar de Nerja and Durante Auditore: to truly accomplish the goals of the Assassins, one had to build on the foundation of the people, and the only way to do that, was to cultivate relationships with people. Arnaud found it difficult to relate to people. His cerebral and skeptical nature often brought him into conflict with others, even as an adult within his Order. Relationships Acerbo Aquila Bontagnoli "Arnaud, if you are reading this, I have failed to say goodbye as I wanted, but the time never seemed appropriate, as I had taken your criticisms to heart, and I wanted to be a father to you before I said goodbye. I leave this land and all of its resources to you. I trust you now know the order, now more than ever before will be an instrumental institution for the future of liberty in Europe, and perhaps the world. You are right: we should embody the values of liberty, equality, and brotherhood as your countrymen have espoused so strongly, and be a community to serve as an example of what this new world could become. But the larger and stronger it grows, the more fragile and difficult it becomes to progress these most esoteric of ideas. I hope your friends understand this truth. Your unwavering endurance and virtue have burdened you with responsibility far greater than anyone man should bear. But you, if anyone, are capable. You have given an old man hope that all is not lost, and for that I thank you. I am grateful to have met you, knowing you will guide this the Order to a better future, and selfishly, that you are my son. I humbly hope that you will one day think of me as your father. Forever yours in brotherhood, Acerbo." Adeline Arlette Sabine Durant Joseph II Napoléon Bonaparte Joséphine de Beauharnais Trivia *Arnaud is the French form of the Germanic Arnold, which means "eagle power," derived from the elements arn "eagle" and wald "power." *Clément is the French form of Clemens, which means "merciful, gentle." *Éloi is the French and Catalan form of Eligius, which is a Late Latin name derived from Latin eligere "to choose." *Durant is a French surname. It ultimately derives from the Latin omen name Durandus, meaning "enduring." *He was born exactly three centuries after another legendary Assassin, Durante Auditore. *Despite its popularity among his idolized philosophes, Arno hated coffee. *He first identified as an atheist at the age of seventeen. **from the ages of eight to seventeen, he flipped back and forth from deism to pantheism and back. *Like many philosophes, he was not principally opposed to an Enlightened Despot. **In fact, he found democracies and republics equally problematic to monarchies. ***However, he frequently mentioned his admiration for the American constitution. *He assumed several noms de plume, all Greek, and often about a philosopher or historian. **Aristotle was is his most common nom de plume, and it references one of his favorite philosophers of antiquity. ***The name Aristotle comes from the Greek name Αριστοτελης (Aristoteles) which meant "the best purpose", derived from αριστος (aristos) "best" and τελος (telos) "purpose, aim". **Zosimos is a Greek name derived from ζωσιμος (zosimos) meaning "viable" or "likely to survive". ***This was used as a play on his surname, which similarly meant "enduring" **Herodotus is the Latinized form of the Greek name ‘Ηροδοτος (Herodotos), derived from ‘ηρως (heros) "hero, warrior" and δοτος (dotos) "given, granted". Herodotus was a Greek historian of the 5th century BC who wrote about Persians and the Persian Wars. He is known as the Father of History. Category:Created by RoninTheMasterless Category:Original Characters Category:Males Category:Europeans Category:Gifted Intelligence Category:Geniuses Category:Sword Wielders Category:Gun Wielders Category:Knife Wielders Category:Weapon Improvisation Category:Projectile Weapon Users Category:Optimal Finesse Category:Multilingual Category:Intuitive Aptitude Category:Danger Intuition Category:Seduction Intuition Category:Weapons Experts Category:Expert Combatant Category:Expert Detectives Category:Expert Acrobat Category:Advanced Technology Wielder Category:Indomitable Willpower Category:Tactical Analysis Category:Investigation Category:Inventors Category:Disguise Category:Heterosexual Characters Category:Acting Category:Espionage Category:Tracking Category:Explosion Creation Category:Naturally Enhanced Biology Category:ME-1